Ending up in the seasonal work realm happened sort of by accident – but it changed my life in so many ways. Here’s why you should consider doing seasonal work at least once in your life (though I dare you not to fall in love with the lifestyle).
1. Seasonal jobs often provide free or inexpensive opportunities not accessible to the average person.
I always wanted to live in a ski town. I grew up skiing as a kid in New Hampshire, but we didn’t have enough money to go very often and I always craved it. I never had my own ski gear or even a ski pass. I even went 12! whole years without skiing through high school, college and my early 20s until my ex boyfriend got me into it again several years ago – then I was on a mission to keep doing it!
On a whim, I moved to Colorado to work for a ski resort mid-COVID, after my international travel plans ended abruptly several months prior. There, not only did I get to ski every day, but I learned how to snowboard (a lifelong desire of mine) and I absolutely fell in love with it. Working for the ski resort in Steamboat Springs had huge advantages – I got a free ski pass, free snowboard lessons, tons of discounted gear and easy access to the mountain which was only ever a 5 minute drive or 10 minute walk for me!
Most people who come to ski resorts have to travel long distances and/or spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars to make it happen. If I never made the decision to work a seasonal job at a ski resort, it’s quite possible I never would’ve been able to afford the sport or find the homies that would go ride with me on powder days.
2. Many seasonal jobs offer remarkable outdoor access in some of the most beautiful places in the country (or the world).
If you love the outdoors, doing a seasonal job might put you right in the center of some of the best locations for easy outdoor access. Outside of the ski resort where I lived in Colorado, the town of Steamboat Springs (and Colorado in general) opened up many opportunities for me; there are tons of national parks and forests out there, which meant lots of camping and road trips to some of the most beautiful places I’ve seen in the United States. The town itself is completely surrounded by national forest, and thus there were endless outdoor activities just waiting outside my front door or a short drive outside of town.
For example, in the summers I did more hiking there than anywhere else in the U.S. I dabbled in rock climbing and river kayaking, did some backpacking and a whoooole lot of camping too. There’s also rafting, paddle boarding, mountain biking, and more. In the winter, outside of skiing and snowboarding, there are people who love cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and even winter hiking. There are also natural hot springs! Who doesn’t love a good hot soak any time of the year?
But Colorado seasonal work is not the only place where easy access to an outdoor lifestyle is possible. I’ve met loads of people who go to Alaska during the summers, or Glacier National Park or even Yellowstone. There are seasonal jobs available for a wide range of skills in so many places that have the best outdoor access right in your backyard. There are even plenty of seasonal jobs in other parts of the world, such as hiking or rafting guides for example.
3. Many seasonal companies offer housing for employees.
When I moved to Colorado in November 2020, I had applied to several ski resorts around the country via a website called CoolWorks. Although I was offered employment at a few of the resorts I applied to, my choice to move to Colorado was based on one important factor: they offered housing. This made the move to a new state by myself so much easier, as I already had a place to live and a job by the time I arrived. This was critical in a place like Steamboat because housing there is already limited and at the time I wouldn’t have been able to afford a large down payment for a lease.
Never had I lived outside of New England except when living in and traveling around Latin America. At first, I thought I would come to work there for a winter season. I wasn’t sure what to expect and I didn’t necessarily have intentions to stay for very long. But the bottom line was that the job and housing offers made moving there incredibly easy.
4. Making friends in a resort town is easy!
I say this as a self-proclaimed shy person. I honestly hate meeting new people but when traveling alone it is a necessity. I started making friends as soon as I moved into the employee housing there. Many people come here for a season or several. Others come for the winter and then go somewhere else in the summer. Still others fall in love with this town and decide to make it their permanent home.
Regardless of the situation, the transient nature of Steamboat (and other seasonal towns) makes it an easy place to meet people. There are always new folks coming in and out who are also looking to make friends and have fun. So if you are worried about coming alone or not knowing anybody, fear not – you won’t have to try very hard to find some new homies.
5. Seasonal work means natural breaks during the off-season to rest or travel.
Since the nature of seasonal work is, well, seasonal, this often means that there is a period where there is a gap in work, which gives people time to get to their next seasonal destination, or in my case, time to go road tripping or go home to visit family. During the off-season, I was able to go on road trips all around the west to experience some other new places, like Utah.
Similarly, since seasonal work can be a little intense sometimes (coming from a restaurant worker who saw hundreds of tourists come through my restaurants on the daily), this off-season was a great time to just rest and refresh after a lot of hard work. It could be a time for many to keep up with personal projects or simply go do something they didn’t have time for during the busy season.
6. Doing one season could turn into a lifestyle or a lifetime.
While I moved to Steamboat Springs with no expectations and only a plan to stay for one winter season, I ended up meeting some truly amazing people and having so much fun. The people and all of the awesome outdoorsy things I had access to made me want to stay longer – so I did! I ended up living there for about 3 years, and even though right now I’m traveling around the world again, I do see Colorado as a place that could be my homebase for years to come. I met many many others who, like me, came to Steamboat to work a season and many have stayed for years. Still others hopped on the seasonal train and take turns going to Alaska in the summer and then back to Colorado in the winter, for example. It’s true that people fall in love with the lifestyle.
7. Often, moving out of your comfort zone paves the way to serendipity.
When I moved out here and learned all about the seasonal work lifestyle, it really implemented for me that this is what I want to do. I love to travel and after a few trips traveling around Central and South America, coming here was incremental in me learning that I can do that here in the United States, too. Before moving to Colorado for a seasonal job I thought moving around and traveling in the U.S. was difficult and expensive, but now I know that it doesn’t have to be.
It’s pretty amazing how this happens in life sometimes. I took a risk moving out there and it was just very serendipitous. I went from waiting for COVID to end so I could travel the world again to finding pockets of adrenaline and excitement in my little explorations around Colorado and beyond. I learned so much and grew so much and met many many amazing souls, including my current loving partner who has joined me in my current travels abroad. Doing seasonal work changed my life completely.
Bottom line:
Take the risk and get the hell out of your comfort zone! Move away from your hometown. Work a seasonal job. Go do that thing you’ve always wanted to do. You never know what doors will open for you until you close the one behind you.
Here are some great places to start looking:
- Cool Works – Great for finding seasonal work in the USA.
- Indeed – Good for all types of work anywhere.
- Job Monkey – Seasonal job website for all around the world.
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